Evaluation of the performance of the operating room by the real time of room occupancy
Nakhli M.S., Kahloul M., Harrathi M.A., Chakroun A., Mhamdi S.
Sahloul Hospital, Dept of Anaesthesiology & Intensive Care, Sousse, Tunisia
Background and Goal of Study: The operating room is the most cost consuming area of hospitals. However, it still suffers from the problem of non-optimized organization. The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of our operating rooms by the real room occupancy time (RROT). We will also try to identify the main causes that could alter it and to study the problem of deprogramming. 
Materials and Methods: This is a prospective and observational study conducted in two operating rooms of different specialties during the month of August 2016. For the two studied rooms, a pre-established data sheet was filled during the days of scheduled activity. The parameters collected consist essentially of calculating total RROT and broken down into periods, room occupancy rate, room overflow rate, incidence and causes of non-compliance with the surgical program and causes of RROT alteration.
Results and Discussion: The month of August included 23 days of programmed activities for the two studied rooms. The mean start time of the activity was 41.93 min / day ± 16.5. The mean overflow time was 11.51 min / day ± 26.26. The actual time of occupancy of the room was 246.56 min / day. This RROT corresponds to an average occupancy rate of 68.49% ± 28.19. The mean time lost per room and per day with a patient in the room was 13.54 min / day ± 19.7. On average 1.86 ± 1.24 acts are performed per room and per morning with a total of 86 interventions. The deprogramming rate is 30.64%. Its main causes are the overshoot of the vacation time offered to surgeons (36.84%), the emergencies (18.42%) and the non respect of the anesthesia instructions (15.78%).
Conclusion(s): The occupancy rate in our structures is relatively acceptable but should not hide the need to optimize the use of available resources. Corrective actions should focus primarily on delayed start-up. Periodic reassessments ideally through computerized systems are essential.